Athletic shoe



Aug. 7, 1951 R. F. ROS Si ETAL ATHLETIC SHOE Filed July 21, 1947 Patented Aug. 7, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Rocco Francis Rossi, Arlington, and Ralph A.

Hydeand George Hyde, Brookline, Mass, as-

signors to A. R. Hyde & Sonsllompany, Cambridge, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Appiication July 21, 1947, Serial No. 762,460

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to athletic shoes and more especially to hockey shoes, the object of the invention being to provide suitable protection for the feet of the wearer by means which are commercially practicable, which do not add excessively to the weight or rigidity of the shoe and which do not involve an excessive increase in cost.

According to the invention, the protection to the foot provided by the usual box toe and counter is augmented by extending the counter forward to or slightly beyond the break of the shoe and to provide a relatively long box toe with wings which extend along the sides of the foot, the

wing at the outer side of the foot extending far enough to overlap or be lapped by the forward end of the counter on that side.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following description thereof, and to the drawing, of which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a shoe last having thereon protective devices embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of a finished shoe containing the invention;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a box toe forming part of the invention.

As indicated in Figure 1, two protective members I U and I2 may be assembled on a last 14 and secured to an insole (not shown) previously mounted on the last. The upper of the shoe is thereafter assembled on the last and the shoe is completed in the usual manner.

Figure 1 shows the outer side of the last with the protective members Ill and I2 thereon. The member in is a box toe preferably made of sole leather, the edges being skived and the lower margins being turned under so as to engage against the insole. The top portion it of the box toe extends back approximately to the base of the instep of the foot and the box toe is further characterized by two rearwardly extending wings l8 and 20, the wing I8 extending further to the rear than the wing 20 and being assembled on the last in such a way as to be against the outer side of the last, the wing 20 being against the inner side.

The protective member I 2 is likewise preferably made of sole leather or other material which is stiff and durable. This member is in the form of a counter which extends from the heel of the shoe forward along the sides of the shoe to points considerably forward than the ordinary counter. As indicated in Figure 1, the portion of the counter l2 which is against the outer side of the 2 foot extends far enough forward to overlap or to be overlapped by the end portion of the wing i 8. This provides a continuous protective wall for the outer side of the foot including the little toe and the fifth metatarsal bone.

It is important that hockey shoes are made as stiff and rigid as is consistent with necessary lightness of weight, particularly with respect to twisting of the sole. The long wings of the box toe and the extensions of the counter, all of which are secured along their lower margins to the sole, strengthen and stiffen the sole materially against twisting. The stiffening effect is further enhanced by fastening the overlapping portions of the wing and counter extension as at 22 by means of one or more short lines of stitching or by any equivalent type of through fastening means.

Figure 2 shows the inner side of the shoe, the protective members being indicated in dotted lines. On this side of the shoe the box toe Wing and counter do not overlap since the extremities of these members are located under the overhang of the arch of the foot and no extra protection is needed at that point.

The protective members It! and [2 are particularly suitable for hockey shoes for the purpose of protecting the toes and sides of the foot from accidental blows from hockey sticks, pucks, and the like. If the protective members are made of good sole leather, such material will absorb blows of considerable magnitude without injury to the parts of the foot protected thereby, and will not fracture nor lose its shape.

It is evident that various modifications in the invention herein shown and described may be made without departing from the scope thereof as defined in the following claims.

We claim:

1. In an athletic shoe having a sole, protective members of substantial rigidity comprising a box toe of stiff material having a top extending from the toe of the shoe to the base of the instep of the foot and wings extending rearwardly along the sides of the shoe, the lower margins thereof being turned under and secured to said sole, and a counter of stiff material having wings extending forwardly along the sides of the shoe, the wings of the box toe and counter on the outer side of the shoe having overlapping portions to provide continuous mechanical protection to the outer side of the foot.

2. In an athletic shoe having a sole, protective members of substantial rigidity comprising a box toe of sole leather having a top extending from the toe of the shoe to the base of the instep of the foot and wings extending rearwardly along the sides of the shoe, the lower margins thereof being skived and secured to said sole, and a counter of sole leather having wings extending forward along the sides of the shoe, the wings of box toe and counter on the outer side of the shoe having overlapping portions which are stitched to ether. ROCCO FRANCIS ROSSI.

A. HYDE.

GEORGE HYDE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number 10 Number 34,962 11 9/ 346,771

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Aldridge and Reilly June 23, 1914 Piotrowski Apr. 26, 1927 Johnsen Aug. 22, 1933 Hack et al. Apr. 25, 1939 Parker 1 Jan.21, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Country 7 Date Holland "fin-1;; Mar. 15,1935 Great Britain June 12, 1913 Great Britain Apr. '1, 1981 Great Britain Mar. 10, 1932 

